The Manatee High School boys basketball team has already matched last year’s win total of four and Island resident Spencer Carper is one of the reasons behind the improvement.

The team’s record stood at 4-6 (3-3 in Class 5A, District 12) prior to its game against North Port on Jan. 4, but they’ve been in every game, according to Spencer. “We haven’t lost a game by more than eight points and we’ve lost three games by one point.” He went on to say that the MHS Hurricanes need to play more as a team and to step up the intensity on defense in order to win some of their close games.

Spencer, a 5-foot, 8-inch junior, starts at guard and serves as one of the team captains. He is averaging 10 points, four assists and one steal per game, and leads the team in three-point field goals.

Coach Brian Reeves said that Carper earned his spot as starter and captain because of his leadership, hard work and dedication, on and off the court. “Spencer is the type of player that every coach loves and every player hates playing against because of his intensity and desire to be the best,” Reeves said. “The strides that he has made between his sophomore and junior season are thanks to many hours of hard work in the gym during the off season. It’s a privilege to coach Spencer and I can’t wait to see how he improves as a basketball player.”

Spencer lives in Anna Maria with mom Shawn and dad David, a younger brother Neil and two sisters, Paige and Emma. He was a regular participant in the Anna Maria Island Community Center basketball and other sports programs there.

When asked about future plans, Spencer, who has a 3.0 grade-point average, didn’t think he would be playing basketball in college, mostly because he wants to attend a big school, probably the University of South Florida. He said he wants to study history and eventually teach high school.

Congratulations Spencer, and good luck with the rest of your season.

Basketball season under way

The Anna Maria Island Community Center’s 2007 basketball season got started Jan. 4 with games being played in town at King Middle School. Teams in four divisions will battle until late February, hoping to finish in the top three so they qualify for the playoffs. The Instructional League will play games until late February as well, but there will be no standings for this developmental league.

Ooh La La! 23, Publix 12

Ooh La La! Bistro defeated Publix in Divisin III action on Jan. 4 behind solid play from Josh Zawistoski, who posted 14 points and 12 steals. Jake Parsons added five points for Ooh La La!, which also received four points, two steals and one rebound from Phillip Dudevoire in the victory.

Publix was led by Cameron Brauner and Makayla Kane with four points apiece. Amanda Bosch added two points and a game-high five rebounds, while Joey Salinas chipped in with two points in the loss.

Rotten Ralph’s 51, WCAC 30

Rotten Ralph’s cooled off West Coast Air Conditioning in the Premier Division opener on Jan. 4 behind a game-high 29 points from Jacob Stebbins and 10 points and five rebounds from Garrett Secor. Ralph’s also received seven points from Nick Tankersley and six points from Zach Evans in the victory.

Alisha Ware scored nine points to lead WCAC, which also received seven points apiece from David Tyson and Celia Ware. Jordan Pritchard added three points and four steals, and Thomas Ganey scored four points in the loss.

Center plans baseball tryouts

The Anna Maria Island Community Center Little League is hosting mandatory tryouts for its major league traveling team on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Bayfront Recreational Center field on Longboat Key from 10 a.m. to noon. Players ages 10-12 who make tge team will play against teams from Manatee West Little League, which plays its games at Bradenton’s G.T. Bray park. Home games for the Islanders will be played at the bayfront field behind the 7-Eleven store on Longboat Key.

The Center also will host a baseball clinic and registration day at the Longboat Key field from 10 a.m. to noon. Jan. 6. Players can register at the AMICC trailer behind St. Bernard Catholic Church. Cost of registration is $85, which includes pants, shirt, hat and socks for players, as well as bus transportation to and from all away games.

Little League will hold tryouts for T-ball players, ages 5-7, and AA and AAA players, ages 7-12, in February. AA and AAA action will feature live pitching this season — no batting machine.

There’s something new in store for the Island Junior League baseball team as well. Now players ages 13-16 are eligible to play. Tryouts will be held 2-4 p.m. Jan. 13 and Jan. 20 at Birdie Tebbetts Field in Holmes Beach. Tryouts are mandatory and Coach Jeff expects his players from last season to come out and compete for a roster spot.

Registration forms are located at the Center office trailer behind St. Bernard or players may register right before tryouts at the appropriate field.

For more information, call 778-1908.

Key Royale golf news

The Key Royale Club closed out the old year with some coed handicap golf on Dec. 29 and christened the new year with a men’s 18-hole, better-ball-of-partners tournament.

Bob Sayles and Bob Lamp combined to shoot a 12-under-par 52 to claim clubhouse bragging rights, three shots ahead of second-place finishers Gordon McKinna and Fred Meyers. Jim Thorton and Bob Elliott, along with Harold Sears and Joe Proxy, tied for third place by posting a 56. There was a three-way tie for fourth place. The teams of John Driscoll and Tom Warda, Bob Dickinson and Bill Gallagher, along with Jim MacVicar and Jim Krumme each shot 57.

The team of Joyce Brown, Jerry Brown, Dottie McKinna and Joe Proxy combined to fire a 58, which was matched by the team of Terry Westby, Richard Westby, Al Gunn and Fred Meyer to produce a tie for first place in the coed tournament.

Gunn and Richard Westby helped their team’s cause with chipins, Gunn on No. 1 and Westby on hole No. 5.

Horseshoe news

Only two teams managed to earn 3-0 records during Dec. 30 horseshoe action so the teams of Tom Rhodes and George McKay “pitted” their skills against the team of Gene Bobeldyk and Bruce Munro. Munro found himself in the winner’s circle for the second Saturday in a row as he and Bobeldyk easily defeated Rhodes and McKay by a 21-8 score.

The team of Bob Lee and Bob Mason posted the only 3-0 record during pool play on Jan. 3 and thus were declared the day’s outright winners.

Play gets under way at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m. followed by random team selection. There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.

Anna Maria Island Community Center basketball schedule

Premier Division (ages 14-17)

Jan. 11 8 p.m. WCAC vs. IRE

Division I (ages 12-13)

Jan. 10 8 p.m. Danziger vs. Oyster Bar

Jan. 16 8 p.m. Cycles vs. Paradise

Division II (ages 10-11)

Jan. 10 7 p.m. ReMax vs. Duncan

Jan. 16 6 p.m. A&E vs. ReMax

Jan. 16 7 p.m. Dips vs. Duncan

Division III (ages 8-9)

Jan. 10 6 p.m. Ross vs. Kumon

Jan. 11 7 p.m. Kumon vs. Publix

Instructional League (ages 5-7)

Jan. 11 6 p.m. Orthopedics vs. LPAC

Jan. 11 6 p.m. Observer vs. BeachHouse

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